Rose Appraisal

11/07/2025

My observations on list price...

1) Listen to your Broker/Realtor!
2) If you did not listen the first time, listen to them now!

I see homes initially over-priced often, and much of the time it is the owner thinking the property is worth more based on Zillow or some othee source. Eventually over several months they agree to lower it, but only a little at a time. Finally, after 6 months they get to where Broker/Realtor had it priced.

As an example, the Broker/Realtor suggested $500K, but the owner knows it worth more and want to list at $540K. Over time they come down, but the first move is 30-45 into it, then another 30-45 days. They trickle down $5-10K at a time until they reach $500K.

They have now missed out on 6 months of buyers and they are under a little more pressure to sell as the bills are adding up. They end up settling for $480K, though likely could have got $505K or more.

I see this scenario play out all the time, and it seem it's about 20% of the jobs I appraise. Listen to the professional. It saves you time and money in the long run.

03/07/2025

Well, it seems I've been pretty busy since this time last year. I guess something changed. Hmmm... Just popped on to say...

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONSIDER BUYING A NEW HOME, FIND A REALTOR TO TAKE WITH YOU BEFORE YOU WALK INTO A SALES OFFICE.

I'll just say that with some of these contracts I see, the buyer probably did not have anyone advocating for them. Sure, they are going to 'discount' it $50,000, but why did one exactly like it just sell last week for another $20,000 less?

Here's one: Jennifer Pennebaker, Realtor

03/06/2024

Why have a measure performed of your house before listing?

Recently I found a property to be 321 square feet smaller than the county had reported and the Realtor represented in the listing. After looking at the county sketch and verifying my measurements, it was determined the county sketch was substantially off on the second floor. The home is now appraising for $40,000 under contract primarily due to a county error and trusting the data for the listing and setting list price.

County reported square footage tends to oftentimes be incorrect with atypical second story floor plans and when additions/alterations have occurred. I have several Realtors that contract me to do a square footage verification prior to listing for this reason. Doing so can save a lot of time and hassle on the front end so as to avoid trying to renegotiate a contract for essentially what is a different home at the last minute.

11/11/2023

VETERANS - THANK YOU!

Are you, or do you know any Veterans struggling with their mortgage and potentially facing foreclosure?

Many of our Veterans have honorably served our country only to come home and face other battlefronts in the civilian world. One of the struggles I am seeing on a more regular basis now is the challenge they face with a possible foreclosure. This situation has been recently exacerbated.

Like millions of other Americans, Veterans using VA Loans took advantage of a COVID mortgage forbearance, which allowed homeowners to skip mortgage payments. It was set up by Congress after the pandemic hit for people who lost income.

In October 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs ended the so-called Partial Claim Payment program, or P*P, that enabled Veteran homeowners to do that. Many Veterans trying to come off their forbearance and resume paying their mortgage ran into delays with their mortgage companies. Ultimately, they are now being told a lump sum is needed to bring the loan current, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars in some cases, which many don't have and means they will either have to sell their house or get foreclosed on.

As a result, part of the process for liquidation is that an appraisal is ordered. I am getting substantially more VA Liquidations orders now. I attempt to make contact three times to gain access, or to be denied access. Whether granted access or not, I will perform the appraisal. Many never respond, however for the few that do I provide as much information as possible to assist them. It's not my job, but if they begin to share (I never ask) about their situation, I often come to realize many do not understand they still have options and that I can help with a little information.

One of the suggestions I make is first to contact the VA. I provide them a website with some information and possible avenues of assistance where they can have a VA Loan Technician assigned to assist. Surprisingly many have not taken this initial step.

The second suggestion is that they contact a Realtor. I am amazed how often a Veteran is facing the beginning steps of foreclosure, yet do not realize the amount of equity they have and that they could sell the home and come away with their equity and possibly avoid the heartbreak of the foreclosure process. I cannot discuss any opinion I may have regarding their equity or opinion of value, but I may suggest they look into it. A Realtor can help with that.

The link below provides information on the VA website where some direction is available to gain assistance. If this does not work, call a Realtor... or do BOTH!

If you fall far behind on your mortgage payments, your mortgage servicer (the company that handles collecting the money for your lender) can take your house to cover the money owed. This process is called foreclosure. Find out how our VA loan technicians can help you avoid foreclosure and keep your....

07/28/2023

Have not posted in a while - This one is targeted...

The ONE THING that really gets under my skin the most are people that have a pathological problem with telling the truth. I have a list of them, and sadly many are in positions that would typically get some respect from most people.

I'm adding another to my list. I have a loan originator that owes for an appraisal for over 6 months. Fortunately, this rarely happens where I don't get paid within a reasonable amount of time. I am also really forgiving when people are just honest with me.

This person has now told me three different stories about how he is going to pay, and now as of today has claimed his 'accounting department' is working on it. Up until now I have been told by multiple people that he works out of his bedroom and the only person responsible for paying is him, including by him.

This Navy Veteran, someone whom I would typically offer unquestioned respect to, appears to have taken another veteran's money, misappropriated it, and is now unable to pay the appraisal for the VA loan.

Today's phone call ended with him hanging up on me because I 'yelled at him like he was a child.' No, I raised my voice to a lying grown man that doesn't take care of his business.

He has ten days before things go south for him...

08/08/2022

Are you selling or buying a house off-market, or without at minimum the services of an experienced Realtor?

May people feel they can handle their own real estate transaction. I just spoke with a seller that will not allow access on a contracted property. A Realtor was not utilized by either party and in this case it appears the seller may be terminating the contract because they don't want to make time for the Appraiser. As a result the buyer will lose the house they had under contract.

The biggest problem here I see is that the contract is poorly written and completely favors the seller. Had the Buyer utilized a Realtor this would not be an issue, but in this case the seller holds all the cards. The Seller was savvy enough... The Buyer wasn't.

06/30/2022

Market Conditions currently appear stabilized, but...

Been analyzing the Duncanville market for a few houses today and it appears it has stabilized and may have been stable for some time now. Not surprising with consideration given the rising interest rates, but stabilization is likely temporary with declining conditions around the corner if the market has not already begun to decline.

As the cost of money increases some have already started to pull out of the market, and we are seeing more home listings come on the market as compared to the past year. A shift to a buyer's market is looming around the corner. That said it is now time to sell.

Also, it appears some investors have grossly overestimated the increasing conditions rate and length of time the conditions would last. As of now more properties are now overpriced for the market, which appears primarily among investors / investing groups.

We are in a changing market, so things are about to go a different kind of crazy. Stay tuned...

03/02/2022

After holding many talks/conversations about the appraisal process with Realtors over the past 3 years at a brokerage or other venue, and being recently asked to do another, it seems like time to write and submit a CE Course for approval to the State.

While there are many things I do cover when doing these talks and have a loosely structured format, it would be tremendously helpful to hear "What do you want to know?" Hearing from Realtors/Brokers about appraisal questions you have had in the past, problems, concerns, methods, anything you can think of, will help me help you and we can all hone our skills together!

Kyle Pennebaker

02/19/2022

Can't say for certain, but it feels like headwinds are blowing for a shift in the market. There are a few little indicators to me I'll expand on soon, but still a great time to sell and will be for a while... it just might not be as good in the months moving forward.

02/17/2022

Being Crystal Clear with your Loan Officer for a Refinance and the Condition of your Property is HUGE.

When applying for a refinance when you have a home improvement or remodel project in the works, it's best to tell your mortgage broker or loan officer everything about the current condition of your property before applying for the loan.

Every few months I get an order where the borrower has withheld condition details - major condition details. It means a whole lot to the lender to know if you are in the middle of a $40,000 project and will very likely mean if/how/when you can get the loan.

I do appraisals where borrowers are clear and it is structured this way with little issues, and then where borrowers are not clear and it only costs the borrower money that will result in never getting the loan, or an extremely long timeline and even more money.

I've had two properties in past month in the same condition. One borrower was clear and the other withheld a lot of details. Guess who got the loan and who did not. being honest and disclosing everything is the best policy.

01/21/2022

I know I have mentioned this before, and it is usually the first thing I address when speaking to groups of Realtors or holding a round table discussion. I cannot emphasize this enough.

The quality of your listing means everything! You hoping to sell a property for the highest price in the fastest amount of time, so why not put your best foot forward? When you go on-line looking for a used car, what is more likely to grab your attention?

1. 1978 Firebird for sale. Here are a few (crappy) photos of it.

2. Classic 1978 Black and Gold Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 For Sale. 4-speed manual transmission, Recently rebuilt 350 CI V-8 engine, Like New Saddle interior & Bucket seats with console, Tic-Toc-Tach, White letter tires. Original Owner , Kept in Garage. Show Condition! Runs Like A Champ. See Video 3D Tour.

This is much like what I see in listings. It can be the same house practically, but I often see that the better listing sold faster and for more 9 of 10 times. Looking at a listing right now on market for 41 days and the only description is "A very compelling description coming soon. You won't want to miss this one." After 41 days in this market I'm pretty sure countless buyers/agents chose to miss this one.

Not only are you selling a property to potential buyers with your listing, but Appraisers rely on listing data more than you may know. I personally read everything and look at all attachments included with the subject listing, and this includes comparable sales I am considering as well.

Make your life easier and your sellers happier and put an extra hour into your listings.

Yours Truly,

Kyle Pennebaker